I start a new job tomorrow.. I will be driving 50 miles round trip about 60/40 highway/city. In a year we may move even farther away from work. So I'm thinking of what kind of commuter car I would want.
I once had an '85 vw golf diesel... LOVED that little bug smasher. My concerns about it were it's size(I'm 6'7"), it looked like a clown car with me driving it.. AND it seemed very unsafe in any kinda crash
. I did get 45 mpg no matter how I drove it, and with
really worn out piston rings... it put out a fine mist of oil on the highway
. I would see people using their wipers behind me lol. Teach them to tailgate a 55hp car!!
You can notice from my signature that I have two MB's right now. My TE is a great, clean, perfect car.. but SUCKS gas! I get 22 mpg MAX on the highway, and about 17-18 in the city. I drive like an old lady most the time. The 300D is a work in progress, but my recent city DD test's indicate it's getting 24+ mpg. I would like to fill it up and drive it on the highway and see what it gets... but it's not at the stage where I would feel comfortable doing that. The longest oneway trip I have made is 50 miles.
If I put the ALDA back on, and maybe look at some other stuff(like what?) then it can perhaps do better in the mpg department. It's VERY peppy the way it is now and really
likescruising at 75+ on the highway. It's got a pretty low rear diff in it now but I still get 2500 rpm at 65-70.
So the questions are:
1. Find a 300D 2.5 turbo? I
think one can eek out 40mpg if driven properly.
2. Find a 190D turbo? 40-45mpg?
3. 190D N/A... 40 mpg?
4. Continue working on my 300D and try to see what I can get the mpg's up to?
5. Say eff it and find another VW?
I'm willing to let my 300D go for the right circumstance(ie: I would trade it for a 300d 2.5). I'm kinda sick of messing with it, it's been 4 years now.
The other factor is my cheapness... I would pay something like 2500-3000 for a decent high mpg commuter, but I prefer 2000 or less
whatcha think?